Chile con Queso with Smoked Chiles & Dried Figs, one of the Super Bowl food items prepared by Houston chef Robert Del Grande, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, in Houston. Del Grande is cooking at the Taste of the NFL's Party with a Purpose fundraiser on Super Bowl Eve in California. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle ) less

Chile con Queso with Smoked Chiles & Dried Figs, one of the Super Bowl food items prepared by Houston chef Robert Del Grande, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, in Houston. Del Grande is cooking at the Taste of the ... more

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff

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Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was the man of the hour Sunday after accounting for four touchdowns in a 49-15 rout of Arizona.

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton was the man of the hour Sunday after accounting for four touchdowns in a 49-15 rout of Arizona.

Photo: Streeter Lecka, Staff

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This Nov. 16, 2015 photo shows hands off party wings with cilantro sour cream dip and honey sriracha in Concord, N.H. These wings require almost no effort from you. The secret is baking powder. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead) less

This Nov. 16, 2015 photo shows hands off party wings with cilantro sour cream dip and honey sriracha in Concord, N.H. These wings require almost no effort from you. The secret is baking powder. (AP ... more

Photo: Matthew Mead, FRE

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Denver quarterback Peyton Manning said Super Bowl 50 -not his NFL future - has his full and undivided attention.

Denver quarterback Peyton Manning said Super Bowl 50 -not his NFL future - has his full and undivided attention.

CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 24: Carolina Panthers fans look on prior to the NFC Championship Game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on January 24, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. less

CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 24: Carolina Panthers fans look on prior to the NFC Championship Game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on January 24, 2016 in ... more

Photo: Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images

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Todd McKernan, right, son of the late Denver Broncos Barrel Man Tim McKernan, rallies fans as they wait for the team's players to board an airplane at Denver International Airport on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. The Broncos will face the Carolina Panthers Sunday, Feb. 7, in Super Bowl 50. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) less

Todd McKernan, right, son of the late Denver Broncos Barrel Man Tim McKernan, rallies fans as they wait for the team's players to board an airplane at Denver International Airport on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. The ... more

Photo: David Zalubowski, Associated Press

Survey: Super Bowl consumer spending could top $15 billion

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The first retail boost of the year kicks off this weekend, according to the National Retail Federation.

An estimated 188.9 million people are expected to watch the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos face off in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday -- the figure extrapolated from a survey done in early January of about 7,300 people.

About 18 percent of those surveyed said they plan to throw a Super Bowl party, with another 28.6 percent saying they'll attend a party. About 80 percent of those party-goers said they'll purchase food.

Eleven percent of Super Bowl watchers will purchase new team clothing or accessories, which translates to an estimated 21 million new items purchased, according to the survey.

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Viewers and party-goers will spend an average of $82.19 this year for clothing, decorations and food. That's up about $5 from one year ago and the highest ever registered in the survey, according to the NRF.

Also, 7.7 percent said they planned to purchase a new television to watch the game. The Super Bowl is one of three times of the year when customers like to upgrade their television sets and home entertainment systems, Best Buy spokesman Shane Kitzman said. Kitzman added the store also sees a surge during Black Friday and when fall TV shows, including football games, return.

Super Bowl weekend is one of the biggest weekends of the year for sales of beer, chips, Velveeta cheese and guacamole at H-E-B, the company's Houston president Scott McClelland said.

"It's absolutely like a holiday," he said.

Each year, the buying surge continues "right up to kickoff," McClelland said.

A spike in spending isn't surprising to Betsy Gelb, marketing and entrepreneurship professor at the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business, who said that the Super Bowl has become a reliable post-Christmas period for retailers.

The Super Bowl, she said, transcends team loyalties and there's a bandwagon element to watching it. "What's driving watching the game is that you're expected to have watched the game," Gelb said. "You're going to work or school the next day and people will be talking about the commercials and the game itself."

Consumer spending tracks closely with the increasing numbers of people watching the game, Gelb said.

As expected, the NRF survey also showed the power of Super Bowl commercials. About 80 percent said that the commercials are entertainment, and 17.7 percent said commercials are the most important part of the game for them.